By Our Reporter
As part of the Women’s Day celebrations, Absa Bank Uganda’s Board Chair, Ms Nadine Byarugaba, hosted several of the bank’s staff and customers to a dinner and mentorship session delivered by exceptional and accomplished women in Uganda.
The dinner, held at the Kampala Serena Hotel, was initiated by a keynote address delivered by Ms Byarugaba, who opened up about her career in banking – which started in 1989 – and how she eventually made it to the board room and advised young women on how to navigate through and thrive in the professional environment.
“It’s very important that as a lady, you select what you want to focus on and take every opportunity to learn. Additionally, never be ashamed to ask for feedback from friends, colleagues and people you respect, as it helps you to know yourself better, introspect and essentially pushes you to grow.” Ms Byarugaba said.
She also shared tips on how women can grow financially saying, “As a working lady, you can invest in treasury bills – these are short-term government papers – and longer-dated treasury bonds. You can also look into long-term assets like shares because we have lots of companies listed and I believe it’s very important for one to know what’s happening on the stock exchange, and this information is available.”
Ms Byarugaba’s address was followed by an enriching panel discussion moderated by Joan Mugenzi – the founder of Imagine Me Africa and a Certified Professional Coach and featured life lessons from Gloria Tuhaise – Deputy Director of Administration at Bank of Uganda, Tina Ntulo – Country Director of Strongminds Uganda and Dr Eunice Adubango – a civil engineer,
former lecturer, financial coach and counsellor.
The panellists shared their life stories, which accounts were interspersed with invaluable nuggets of wisdom on how to grow as a woman – both personally and professionally.
The ladies also spoke to the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day, “Break the Bias”, where they opened up about some of the biases they had to challenge as young women starting in their careers.
Bank of Uganda’s Tuhaise said, “You can easily get carried away by the various biases that you encounter, but you need to know what you stand for and who you are.”